Hot Topics:

Phil taps Kevin Shuck for executive director position

Wes Blomster, Camera Classical Music Critic

Posted:
03/14/2010 05:38:30 PM MDT

Updated:
03/14/2010 05:38:43 PM MDT

The Phil has found its man!

Kevin Shuck assumed his duties as executive director of the Boulder Philharmonic on March 2. He's settled into the orchestra's administrative offices in the Dairy Center and has the details involved in running Boulder's major musical organization well in hand.

Shuck, 37, comes to Boulder from five years with the Berkeley Orchestra, the Bay Area ensemble founded 30 years ago by Kent Nagano.

"Kevin had long been our first choice for the job," says Dave Fulker, president of the Phil board and chairman of the committee charged with finding a new executive director. "But luring him away from Berkeley wasn't easy, and he took a very close look at our operations before accepting our offer."

Shuck made several visits to Boulder and heard the Phil at its best at the sold-out January performance by Christopher Taylor. And he returned for a meeting of the Phil board while his contract was being finalized.

"Kevin was an amazingly positive presence at that session!" Fulker says. "He went right to work on plans for the future, and the board went home eager to be involved in projects to make the Phil an even more vital organization."

A major factor in Shuck's decision for Boulder is the presence here of Michael Butterman, now winding up his fourth season as Phil music director.

"I knew a lot about Michael before I met him," says Shuck. "I had studied his programs and knew the interesting work that he is doing.

Advertisement

"And five minutes after meeting him, I knew he was someone I could work with."

At the Taylor concert Shuck felt the ingredients for the Phil's future success were all there.

"There's enthusiasm for the orchestra," he says, "and its leadership is strong."

Although it is obviously too early to discuss plans in detail, Shuck speaks of his desire to increase the subscription base of the Phil.

"While I was in Berkeley subscriptions grew by 40 per cent," he says. "I'm committed to being actively engaged with subscribers and getting to know them."

And through his commitment to the Phil, Shuck sees himself as a lobbyist for Boulder, working with community groups and leaders to strengthen the role of the arts here.

"I plan to make myself extra-accessible," he says.

"We're counting on Kevin to bring a new artistic vision to the Phil," Butterman says of Shuck. "He wants to make each concert a unique artistic experience.

"He plans to connect music with the world of ideas."

Butterman praises Stuck "as an insider with a way of thinking outside the box."

"He's a musician himself and thinks as a musician with a wide view of the world," the conductor says.

Buttermam further praises Shuck as a person of great warmth.

"The moment you meet him you're drawn to him," he says. "And I'm hoping to spend more time in Boulder to develop his ideas."

"I'm already enjoying watching the interaction between them," he says, "It bodes well for the future of the Phil."

Butterman is effusive in his praise of Sue Levine, Phil executive director in difficult days since 2003.

"She's a tireless advocate of the orchestra, which has stayed on stage mainly through her efforts.

"She's been a 'right-hand' person in everything from fundraising to schlepping music stands.

"I look forward to having her back in the ensemble."

Cheng back in Boulder

It's Valentine's Day all over again!

Pianist Angela Cheng, a Boulder favorite during her years on the University of Colorado faculty, is back to perform Chopin's Second Piano Concerto with the Boulder Phil on Wednesday.

The choice of the concerto, a major masterpiece of the Romantic repertory, celebrates the 200th birthday of the short-lived Polish-born composer.

"Although I've never worked with Angela, I've known the magic of her playing for many years," says Michael Butterman, on the podium for the Macky performance. "She's famous for her Chopin and she'll make this an event worthy of the big birthday!"

Butterman frames the concerto with works that pay tribute to Chopin's "double nationality" -- his roots in the land of his birth and in France, where he spent the majority of his creative years.

He opens the program with Andrzej Panufnik's "Hommage Chopin" and closes it with Georges Bizet's Symphony in C.

Panufnik's tormented life parallels that of Wladyslav Szpilman, hero of the Oscar-winning "The Pianist."

Concluding work on the Wednesday program is Georges Bizet's youthful Symphony in C, a score not discovered until 1933.

"It's sunny and effervescent -- a perfect balance for an unusually engaging program," the conductor says.

Angela Cheng and husband Alvin Chow continue on the faculty of Oberlin Conservatory. Their daughters Alyssa and Amanda Are now 12 And 14 years old.

Cheng's most recent Boulder appearances were at the Colorado Music Festival in 2004 and with the Phil in 2005.

Boulder's Joey Airola wins in 106s at the Pepsi CenterThe nerves of steel for Boulder freshman Joey Airola didn't match the surroundings, let alone his circumstance. This state wrestling debut was a calm and collected masterpiece. Full Story

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story